The Best Laid Plans, Episode IV
by OpticalRacer
Summary: After a rough start, Soraa and Ja'Ina are now living the life of adventure they've dreamed of, as bounty hunters. But a bounty hunter can never predict who they'll meet or what they'll encounter, especially in Palpatine's Empire. If you've been curious about this story, here's a good place to drop in. OC-centric; set at 0 BBY; Rated T for violence/language/drinking like the films.
1. Chapter 1

**Best Laid Plans – A Star Wars Serial Adventure**

* * *

_Author's Note: While I have created the characters and the situations, it all resides in the Star Wars Universe owned by George Lucas._

_This story was conceived in an episodic, serial form. To read the previous episodes of this story, please go to:_

_www fanfiction net/s/8366512/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-I _

_www fanfiction net/s/8479640/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-II_

_www fanfiction net/s/8647198/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-III  
_

_(just need to add the missing periods, I apologize for that inconvenience)_

* * *

**Episode IV**

After leaving their home world of Galathu, Soraa and Ja'Ina found themselves the unwitting guests of the pirate captain Berini aboard her ship the _Queen Valkyrie_.

Having strong reservations about joining the pirate ship at Captain Berini's behest, the young friends were taken prisoner with Soraa encased in carbonite.

In the hopes of freeing her friend, Ja'Ina reluctantly joined the pirates and proved a valuable addition to the crew, and the young women decided to join them permanently, looking forward to the exciting life that awaited them…

* * *

**Chapter One**

The _Lucky Star_ descended through the atmosphere a bit too fast, making for a very choppy ride. Fitty let out a stream of blats and buzzes reprimanding the inexperienced pilot as the aged Y-Wing continued to bounce recklessly.

Ja'Ina laughed at the astromech's protests. "Oh, Fitty, we're doing just fine. How do you expect me to get better unless you let me practice?"

The translation screen on the crew consoles displayed Fitty's response so that Soraa and Ja'Ina could understand him. "_This is a clear indication that you still need substantial training in operating the ship. Currently all systems are within acceptable tolerances. However, if you continue this angle of descent the situation will quickly deteriorate._"

Fitty's warning convinced Ja'Ina to ease up on the hands on throttle-and-stick and try to remember more of what her droid 'flight instructor' had taught her. Fitty wasn't really programmed for pilot training but Ja'Ina still proved an amazingly quick study even with the limited guidance he was able to provide from his databanks. She exhibited reaction times that defied the astromech's logic circuits, and she quickly understood how the controls correlated to the movement of the fighter. Kurloh said it was due to her connection to the Force.

Still, Ja'Ina had let the excitement get the best of her again, which was an unforeseen effect of her exciting new life as a pirate. She refocused herself and steadied the ship into a more controlled flight.

Sitting right behind Ja'Ina in the aft-facing gunner's seat, Soraa was enjoying the ride from her vantage point through the viewport. Though the ionized moisture high in the atmosphere made it difficult to see, she could occasionally see the _Queen Valkyrie_'s shuttle behind them whenever the haze had thinned enough.

"C'mon, Ina," Soraa encouraged. "Let's see how far we can push it!"

"No, Fitty's right. We don't want to risk becoming a skid mark on the planet's surface." Ja'Ina relaxed her grip on the HOTAS. "Besides, we don't want to leave the others behind, do we?"

Though the BTL-S3 Y-Wing was not the fastest fighter in the galaxy, it still could easily outrun the small planetary shuttle, even with one engine out.

Soraa came to her senses. "I guess you're right. The Captain would probably get upset if we didn't stay together."

"Remember, the shuttle has very light armament. We're also flying escort for them."

Soraa patted the turret controls. "At least my gun can do some real damage now!"

The _Lucky Star_'s ion weapon had since been converted into a twin repeating blaster cannon, adding its modest offensive capability to that of the nose cannons. However, the ship's overall weaponry still lacked the serious punch of the torpedo system, having been replaced with a cargo compartment by In-Dee Johlo, the unfortunate previous owner.

A communications hail came in through Soraa and Ja'Ina's headsets. "_Valkyrie-One_ to _Lucky Star_, come in."

"Go ahead _Valkyrie-One_," Ja'Ina responded.

"Ja'Ina, we'd appreciate it if you didn't lose us."

Ja'Ina chuckled. "Sorry about that, Marka! Fitty let me have it as well."

Several standard months have passed since Soraa and Ja'Ina officially joined the crew of the _Queen Valkyrie_. Despite the rough start, the two young women now felt completely at home. Berini kept a stern ex-Imperial Navy leadership of the vessel, but was also a matronly figure for the crew. The young women have since considered her their surrogate mother as well.

The young friends have seen many worlds throughout the Outer Rim Territories and experienced amazing adventures. Their travels have far exceeded the wildest dreams of their youth.

Now these missions have started to become routine to Soraa and Ja'Ina. Despite the fact that the _Valkyrie_'s crew referred to themselves as pirates, they rarely engaged in true piracy. For all intents and purposes they were a band of bounty hunters, and that suited Soraa and Ja'Ina just fine. They felt that as long as the right jobs were taken, what they were doing was definitely more morally sound than being actual pirates. Berini was careful to take jobs that had the lowest possibility of attracting the Empire's attention and she absolutely refused to take jobs from the Empire itself. Soraa and Ja'Ina felt real satisfaction with their work as well. Berini chose jobs going after true scum and villainy, which was perfectly fine with them.

The team had departed the _Queen Valkyrie_ in high orbit and Berini took the ship away to pick up a new crewmember. Depending on how things went with the mission, they would all meet up again within the next couple of days.

The atmosphere had cleared and the young women could now see where they were. They located their destination, the city of Olu-Krav, and Ja'Ina set their course accordingly.

Their current job came from a man named Ekha, who organized some of the largest and most popular swoop races in the sector which were based on this particular planet of Olu-Dra III.

A rogue IG-series assassin droid ran amok at the most recent race, killing nearly one-hundred spectators and several racers as well before disappearing. Ekha himself managed to escape with his life by the shave of a nerf's hide, but he also lost a lot of money and his reputation. This droid was still on the loose and local authorities have been unable to locate it. The regional Imperial governor didn't show any interest in the incident, either. In fact, the local Imperial presence was minimal at best.

Ekha was so desperate to have this droid found and destroyed that he hired several bounty hunters to find it, including Berini. The Captain enjoyed challenging her crew, especially when it came to competition on a bounty. She and her crew had the reputation of being some of the best in the outer regions of the galaxy.

The fighter and shuttle landed next to each other on the same open-air landing pad and pirates and droid egressed alike. Ja'Ina slung her scimitar's baldric across her back and sported a new dagger strapped to her thigh. Soraa had her trusty DL-44 heavy blaster on her hip and a new hold-out blaster hidden in her boot. It was early morning, with the sun just appearing over the horizon. It was still cool so Ja'Ina wore a poncho over her scanty breechcloth and bikini top. Soraa carried her DL-44 blaster pistol and sported an armorweave jacket over her skin-tight unitard. This jacket afforded her some protection from blaster fire, unlike her old leather one which still bore the hole where Dun'ii had shot her.

Marka, Kurloh, Juun and Rann had come aboard _Valkyrie-One._ Everyone except for Ja'Ina carried blaster weapons. She instead carried her archaic yet beautiful scimitar and wielded it masterfully, her skills augmented by her connection with the Force.

The young woman's swordsmanship always impressed Kurloh, the only other Force-sensitive of the _Queen Valkyrie's _crew. The Togruta told Ja'Ina that her weapon preference was a carry-over from the traditions of the lightsaber-wielding Jedi. In fact, Kurloh wished that Ja'Ina had a lightsaber of her own. She would have loved to see her in action with one of those ancient, elegant weapons. Like the Jedi, it was doubtful that there were any lightsabers still in existence anywhere in the galaxy, the Order having been obliterated by the Empire nearly twenty years ago.

In addition to a pistol, Rann also carried a T-28 repeating sniper blaster rifle partially disassembled in a case she held under her long coat. While she was good with blasters in general, her specialty was long-range sniping, which was likely to be of use in this hunt.

Fitty accompanied the lady pirates as he often did on hunts. On this particular mission, his scanners might be of some use in locating the fugitive assassin droid. Given the available information, the team had reason to believe that their target was still in the vicinity of Olu-Krav.

The city's spaceport was situated in the western outskirts of town with the landing pads situated along an ocean coast. The main street next to the spaceport was lined with small shops contained in one contiguous structure along the roadway. The whole place was somewhat behind in technological levels, but there were still plenty of droids and speeders and such around to keep things from being totally primitive.

The city as a whole was fairly fragmented, with wild forested areas breaking up the order of the structures and streets. The swoop racetrack was located towards the center. The wild areas beyond the city were barer, with scant flora and fauna and plenty of rocky hills and mountains. The city was basically a self-contained oasis, fed by many natural springs, as were all of the major settlements on the planet. The native people were human, but there were plenty of emigrated races represented as well.

The group walked along the road until they found a tavern and walked in. The droid detector at the entrance squawked an alarm as Fitty rolled past it. Marka put a hand in front of the astromech, causing him to stop. "Sorry, bolt bucket. You'll have to wait outside."

Fitty let out a protesting screech, as to let all beings within the establishment know of his displeasure.

The women walked over to a circular booth in the far corner and sat down. The bar was rather cramped with many tables, but only a few patrons were present at this morning hour.

Being the security chief of the _Queen Valkyrie_, Kurloh was put in charge of the mission. She began the discussion.

"Alright, ladies, here we are. As we all know, this droid went into hiding after the incident, so we have a bit of a job just to find it. Assuming it doesn't have access to transportation, it shouldn't be too far away – either in one of the forested areas within the city proper, or the nearby arid regions."

Juun chimed in. "So it's still on the planet?"

"Information passed on from the locals suggests that it is. Witnesses said that it ran off on foot after the massacre. It was surprisingly fast, and was armed with some kind of medium repeating blaster."

"Now that's something you don't see every day," Rann replied. "Those weapons are so powerful that they're usually mounted on tripods or speeders!"

"Sounds like a walking tank," Soraa added.

Kurloh continued. "You may be right. I wouldn't be surprised if it has heavier armor than a typical IG-series droid to compliment its firepower."

Just then a squat server droid with a tray on top of its flat head rolled up to the table. [Excuse me, would you like any refreshments?]

"Do you have any Nimu ale?" Soraa asked the automaton.

[I am sorry, but we do not have that particular beverage.] Nimu ale was not even present in the droid's databanks. It was virtually unknown outside of Galathu.

"Alright then, just one of your house brews."

[Very well.]

Ja'Ina elbowed her friend. "Soraa! It's still the morning! You really should have some breakfast."

"Okay, okay." Soraa turned to the server droid. She picked common food that would likely be served here. "I'll have some fried gorf eggs and bantha ham with my ale."

[Very well,] the droid replied. That was its lone programmed affirmative response, which sounded exactly the same in tone and inflection every time.

Ja'Ina shot a hand in front of the automaton. "No ale," she grumbled, shooting her friend a glare that could burn a hole through durasteel.

"Fine, a cup of stimcaf then," Soraa said with a sigh.

The rest of the women ordered their breakfasts and went back to their discussion.

"Okay, we're going to split up into pairs," Kurloh said. "One pair will take the city's forests, another will take the arid region to the north, and the third will take the south."

"What do we do when we make contact with our target?" Soraa asked.

"Let the other teams know, and then tail it. Wait until we're all together before trying to take it down. We'll need as much firepower as possible, and give it more than one adversary to deal with."

Rann reached down and slapped the case next to her feet. "We have all the firepower we need right here!"

The Togruta raised an eyebrow at Rann. "Maybe so, but we need to act as a team. This thing is extremely dangerous, and we don't want any of us to get caught alone with it. We have no idea what kind of programming is driving its actions, if there's any programming running in its processors at all."

The server droid returned with its tray overloaded with food and drinks, interrupting the conversation. Multiple mechanical arms extended from the droid's body and reached up to grab the items. It quickly and carefully placed everything in front of the correct patrons and then zipped away.

Ja'Ina took a bite then resumed the discussion. "What about our competition? Surely there're plenty of other hunters around."

Marka quickly scanned the tavern. There weren't very many patrons around, but there was one who sat alone at a table near the entrance. He had come in a short time after the pirates did and sat hunched over under a cloak with some kind of drink in front of him. He was staring at the wall and couldn't look more suspicious if he tried.

"There's a potential competitor over there," the Theelin informed her crewmates, chinning in his direction.

Ja'Ina said, without even looking at him, "Yeah, I'm sure he's another hunter. We'd better be careful." What she didn't share with the others was the strong uneasy feeling she got from the stranger.

Rann added with a scowl, "That's all we need, to have some eopie-brain stumble in when we're trying to get this thing and ruin the operation!" Her cybernetic leg ached with the memory of her betrayal by the Empire.

"It could be used to our advantage, however," Ja'Ina countered. "We may be able to use distractions caused by other hunters to move in and take our prize."

That did not calm Rann's bitterness of her past experience. "Or we could be overrun by the competition and the whole thing turns into a big mess!"

"Then we'll just have to keep our eyes open," Juun reassured her. "We're the best out here! Remember that."

Everyone raised their glasses in a toast to themselves. Ja'Ina glanced over at the loner by the door. He looked straight at her, his face completely hidden within the shadow underneath his large hood. He lifted his glass slightly off of the table and gave her a subtle nod.

* * *

The pirates finished their meal and left the tavern without even acknowledging the stranger as they walked by. Fitty was still standing right outside the entrance whistling quietly to himself.

Soraa patted the astromech on his domed head. "C'mon, Fitty. Let's go."

The droid extended his third leg and rolled alongside the women.

The group returned to the landing platform where their ships were parked. They unloaded the two speeder bikes from the shuttle's cramped cargo area. Kurloh continued to lay out the plan to the others.

"Okay everyone, we'll split up here. Marka, Juun, you'll take the northern arid region."

"But I hate deserts!" Juun protested.

"It's a perfect opportunity to work on your tan, Juun!" Marka jokingly quipped. The Theelin tugged at the shoulder strap of Juun's outfit, showing her pale complexion.

Kurloh ignored Juun's griping, "Rann and Soraa will take the southern arid region, and Ja'Ina and I will take the city's forest areas."

Soraa briefly glanced at Ja'Ina. She was not happy about being separated from Ja'Ina again, but kept her feelings to herself. It seemed like Ja'Ina and Kurloh had been spending more time together as of late. Ja'Ina wouldn't even tell her what they were doing together, which fueled jealousy within Soraa. She was afraid that Ja'Ina was drifting away from her and developing a stronger bond with the Togruta.

Soraa had not yet built up the courage to confront Ja'Ina about the situation, but for now she let it go and focused on the mission. At least she was going to be with Rann, with whom she had developed a good friendship through their shared interest in blasters.

Without warning, Fitty let out a few blats and squeaks.

Ja'Ina laughed. "Fitty, do you think we're going to leave you behind?"

The astromech responded with a long, descending squeal that sounded like a woeful electronic sigh.

"Don't worry; you're coming with Kurloh and me," Ja'Ina reassured the distressed droid.

Fitty tooted a happy affirmative and rolled over to the pair.

"Everyone, tune your comlinks to our usual encrypted frequency and stay in touch," Kurloh directed. "Let's go find that rust bucket, and keep an eye out for any competition."

Marka and Juun mounted their speeder bike and took off for the north of the city. Soraa and Rann rode theirs off to the south. Kurloh, Ja'Ina and Fitty headed into the city for the forested area.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Soraa and Rann made their way down to the southern part of Olu-Krav toward the arid region. The deserts were detailed with ravines and rocky hills and ridges but otherwise very flat. There were countless options for a fugitive to hide, but also vantage points to spy from. The duo would need to keep their keen eyes open in case their hand-held scanners were ineffective in locating the droid.

Being as proficient with blasters as they were, Rann and Soraa were excited that they might get a chance to really work their skills. The two actually had a friendly rivalry going with their shooting skills, but they didn't get very many chances to compete since they rarely engaged in full-on open combat. Most of the time, they tested their mettle in the small shooting range on board the _Queen Valkyrie_. Their abilities complemented each other very well since Soraa specialized in closer-quarters firefights, whereas Rann's skills were strongest with long-range sharpshooting.

They arrived at the edge of the city and stopped their bike. The settlement was surrounded by a wall of about five meters in height and a meter thick with the desert just beyond. It aided in containing the temperate environment while keeping the aridness out. All of the cities on Olu-Dra III were like this. If it wasn't for the localized springs that the cities were built upon, the planet would be about as habitable as Tatooine.

"So where do we go from here?" Soraa asked.

Rann looked around for a moment, "We just keep heading due south, I suppose. Activate the scanner and set it to detect droids. That blasted thing should stand out fairly well among the rock formations."

Soraa pulled the hand-held scanner out of her jacket pocket and activated it. Immediately it sounded alerts in front of them ringing from multiple sources. A group of rocky hills stretched out in front of them, from which the readings were originating.

Rann exchanged worried looks with Soraa as the latter swept the scanner from side to side. As it pointed away from the hills, the alarms subsided. Pointing it back, it rang out once more, indicating numerous blips.

Soraa muttered, "Blast it! There must be metal ore deposits in the hills. It's causing too much interference." She switched the device off and returned it to her jacket pocket.

"I guess we'll just have to look for it the old-fashioned way," Rann said matter-of-factly, pointing to her eyes.

Rann fired up the speeder bike's engine and they started for the hills, which were several kilometers away. The terrain before the hills was mostly flat and featureless. Despite the area being arid, it did not get excessively hot during the day. It was just that there was a lack of sources of water.

* * *

Olu-Krav, like every city on Olu-Dra III, was built on a densely-vegetated area fed by several springs. These wild areas were populated with a wide variety of flora and fauna, and the majority of the natural habitat was kept preserved. Without it, the city would not be able to exist for long. The natural resources would not be able to handle sustained use by the local denizens and the area would become arid like the majority of the planet. So the city was built into distinct pockets contained within a single wild area and used its resources responsibly. This made the cities self-sufficient, which was advantageous since hundreds of kilometers of barren land spanned between them, making interaction an uncommon occurrence.

Ja'Ina, Kurloh and Fitty made their way into Olu-Krav's wild area along an established path and almost immediately felt at peace. Twenty paces in, it was hard to tell that civilization was right nearby. The space within the forest was completely shielded from the sights, sounds and scents of the city, which were replaced by the sights, sounds and scents of the natural environment. The two Force-sensitives stopped and took in all of the pure life energy surrounding them, which filled their very being with peace.

Kurloh was the first to speak. "Whaddya think, Ina? Isn't this great?"

"Yeah Ku, this is one of the richest places I've ever been in. It easily rivals the forests back home. I'm impressed that the locals actually keep all of this intact while maintaining the city."

"This place is perfect for people like us since the living Force is strong in unspoiled places like this. If our quarry is here, it'll stand out to us like a dark specter in amongst pure light."

Ja'Ina changed the topic. "What about that guy back at the tavern?"

"Yeah, I felt it too. It's strange; almost as if he wanted us to sense something with him. Like he knew we'd be able to."

"If he is indeed another bounty hunter looking for this droid, we'll likely see him again… No, with what I felt, I expect we will."

"Your insight serves you well, Ina. I'm impressed with your progress."

Ja'Ina smiled back. "You've been a great mentor, Ku."

The Togruta insistently looked straight into the young woman's eyes. "Yeah, well just remember we're not Jedi. I'm not your master, nor you my Padawan. We definitely don't want anyone to know about our connection to the Force or we could be in serious danger."

Ja'Ina said nothing in reply, but thought about what she learned about the destruction of the Jedi Order in the Great Purge nearly twenty years ago. Ever since Kurloh pointed out that the Force was with her, Ja'Ina had thoughts about the timing of her birth and being orphaned around the same time as the Purge.

Occasionally she would consider that there may in some way be some kind of connection between her and the Jedi Purge, as if she had been spared from it for some reason. It seemed really far-fetched to her so she never dwelt on it for any significant length of time. She also never shared these thoughts with Kurloh either, since she felt they were ridiculous. Ja'Ina once again refocused on where she was and what she was doing.

The two women walked through the forested area for quite some time. Fitty followed closely behind with his small scanner antenna protruding from his domed head. Given the heightened senses Ja'Ina's and Kurloh's abilities with the Force afforded them, they were able to search for the assassin droid as well as enjoy the environment that surrounded them. They found one of the numerous springs and stopped for a refreshing drink. As the women sat down next to the spring-fed pool for a short rest, Fitty continued his scans.

Kurloh pulled the comlink from her belt. "This is Kurloh, calling Teams Two and Three. What's your status?"

Marka answered back first, "No sign of our target yet in the northern region. There's a lot of nothing out here."

"Roger that, Team Two."

Rann reported next. "We picked up some metallic readings from some nearby hills due south of the city. It's most likely that the hills are full of some kind of ore, but we're checking it out just in case. We're almost there."

"Very good, Team Three," Kurloh said. "Everyone be careful and keep this channel open."

Marka and Rann simultaneously replied, "Affirmative!"

Kurloh replaced the comlink and offered Ja'Ina her hand. "Come on, let's keep looking."

Ja'Ina nodded to the Togruta and stood up with her assistance.

* * *

The ground became more uneven as the hills loomed right in front of Soraa and Rann. Soraa brought the scanner back out and swept it for any new signs. She didn't like the situation one bit. The numerous signals picked up by the scanner frazzled her nerves. She'd rather there were absolutely no readings at all. Thoughts raced through her mind with the idea that there'd be a hundred assassin droids waiting for them in the hills. Soraa was shaken free from those thoughts when Rann brought the bike to a stop. The two then dismounted.

It was mid-morning and the sun continued to rise through the clear sky, warming the air, but not unpleasantly so. As the women walked up the increasing incline, Soraa continued to scan for the droid. Inattentive, she stumbled on a rock and nearly fell.

Rann reached a hand over to catch Soraa. "Hey, watch where you're walking!"

"Sorry, I guess I've been staring at the scanner for too long."

"Put that thing away. It's not doing us any good."

Soraa deactivated the scanner and replaced it in her armorweave jacket's pocket. She still felt nervous about the countless blips she had read from it but tried to keep a rational head about it. The last thing she needed was a case of anxiety getting in the way of her blaster skills, should she need them. Even worse, her nervousness was also infecting Rann.

Soraa picked up the pace a little bit; the anticipation of finding something in the hills was getting to be too much for her. Rann struggled to keep up. Her cybernetic leg worked well enough for regular walking and day-to-day actions, but quickly showed its limitations as she tried to go much faster up the hill.

"Wait up, Soraa!"

Rann's call went unanswered as Soraa started scrambling up the steadily increasing slope. Soraa reached the top of the ridge and stopped cold. She then dropped to the ground just below the ridgeline and drew her blaster. Rann worked hard to join up with her distressed comrade.

"What is it?" Rann asked breathlessly.

Soraa was breathing hard with her eyes wide. "I think we've found it…"

Rann kept low and carefully made her way to the top. She slowly peered over the edge down into the valley and spied the assassin droid with several Stormtroopers. She quickly ducked back down.

"Yeah, that's it alright. Did you notice the Imps down there?"

"Uh-huh," Soraa answered. "What the hell are they doing there with the droid?"

"I don't know, but we'd better report this to the others."

* * *

Kurloh, Ja'Ina and Fitty had just made it to the edge of the forested area when the comlink sounded. Kurloh removed it from her utility belt.

"Kurloh here, go ahead."

The hushed but excited voice of Rann came over the speaker. "This is Team Three. We've found our target! I repeat we've found it!"

"That's great!" Kurloh replied.

"Yeah, but there's a slight problem. It's accompanied by several Imperial troopers."

Ja'Ina shot a Kurloh a worried look.

"What's your status?"

"I don't think they know we're here. We're at the top of a ridge and they're about five-hundred meters away from us in a small valley hidden amongst the hills due south of Olu-Krav."

"Alright Rann. Just stay where you are and monitor them. Do _not_ engage. Understand?"

Rann would have loved the opportunity to pick off the Stormtroopers one at a time right then and there. But she understood that it might not be the best idea right now. "Yeah, we'll stand by."

"Good! Team Two, did you copy that?"

"Yeah we did," Marka answered through the comlink. "We're already heading back towards the city top-speed. It'll take us a little while though."

Kurloh nodded. "Understood. Do your best."

The Togruta turned around to face Ja'Ina, who was no longer standing next to her. She had already started running down the road.

Kurloh ran after her. "Hey! Wait up!"

The duo came across an unattended speeder bike on the side of the road.

"Will this do?" Ja'Ina asked, gesturing to the vehicle with a big smile.

The Togruta returned the smile. "Yeah, it'll do just fine! I'm very impressed, Ina. You're becoming quite the pirate!"

"I'll drive," Ja'Ina said as she started to straddle the bike.

"Not this time, sweetie!"

Ja'Ina called back to Fitty, who had finally caught up with them. "You go back to the _Lucky Star_ and stay there, okay?"

The astromech let out a loud squealing blat in protest.

Kurloh crouched in front of the distressed droid, looking him in his photoreceptor. "Look little fella, we'd take you along but there's no way to get you on this thing." She motioned to the speeder bike. "Besides we need you to back us up from the _Lucky Star_."

Fitty let out an electronic sound that was not unlike a disappointed sigh.

Kurloh deftly jumped up and strode the speeder bike's saddle. Ja'Ina got on behind her and they sped off out of the city towards the hills to the south, leaving the little droid behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Rann and Soraa remained where they were, at the same time making sure their presence remained undetected. Still, Rann wanted to scope the situation out a little further so she pulled a pair of macrobinoculars from a pouch on her belt.

"Soraa, stay here, I'm gonna take a closer look."

"Are you crazy?! We're to stay right here until the others arrive."

"But what if the Imps leave before our friends get here? Trust me; I was an assassin for many years. I know how to keep outta sight." Rann removed her long coat and left the blaster rifle case with Soraa.

Soraa bit her lip anxiously as she watched Rann crawl back up to the top of the ridge. Rann was careful not to loosen any stones under her to avoid attracting the attention of their targets. While the stony ground felt rough on her exposed real leg, her cybernetic leg was protected from the dirt and debris under the long right pant leg.

Rann got down on her belly and peered over the ridge's edge with the macrobinoculars to her eyes. Focusing on the group in the valley, she counted seven Stormtroopers, with one sporting a large shoulder pauldron denoting his rank as squad leader. Most of them were standing around, scanning their environment in all directions. One trooper was kneeling in front of the assassin droid and appeared to be adjusting or repairing something on the automaton.

The Imperials also had two landspeeders, each of which armed with a repeating blaster cannon mounted on the back. Rann could hear the troopers' voices, but could not make out what they were saying. She looked back at the droid and noticed that it wasn't carrying a weapon, but rather it had an arm replaced with the repeating blaster that had been reported by witnesses. Rann slinked back down the slope to Soraa and relayed what she had seen.

"Whaddya think, Soraa?"

"In the past, I'd say 'let's blast them'. But Ina's influence on me says to wait."

"I'd say she's been a good influence on you. Those goons are a bit too numerous even for our skills. And there may be more of them that we don't see."

That notion made Soraa nervous. "I hope not! But what're they doing there with that thing?"

"I dunno. One thing's for sure, if the Empire's controlling that droid, they've got some kind of issue with our client."

"Do you think they were trying to kill him?"

"It's possible. That could explain why Ekha is so adamant about having the droid destroyed. It's not very often that someone would hire multiple hunters for a job unless it was a very serious situation."

Rann opened up her case and began to assemble the rifle. Soraa watched as the pieces came together to become an impressive weapon. The last component Rann installed was a large electro-optic scope on the top. She ran a rag over the rifle, cleaning off any debris that could potentially interfere with operation. Lastly, Rann produced a large energy pack from the case and slapped it hard into the end of the rifle's grip. Rann lifted the completed weapon and held it in the firing position to look through the scope. She lowered it and gave Soraa a big smile of satisfaction.

* * *

Kurloh and Ja'Ina raced towards Soraa's and Rann's position on their 'borrowed' speeder bike. The young woman's long, thick braid and Togruta's head tails fluttered energetically as they sped along. Kurloh was a decent pilot; her latent abilities with the Force were a big part of her skills. Ja'Ina tightly held on right behind her.

"What are we going to do when we get there?" Ja'Ina called over Kurloh's shoulder.

"We'll meet up with Rann and Soraa and go from there. We can't wait too long for Marka and Juun though. We'll probably have to make our way into the valley while Rann and Soraa cover us from their vantage point."

"Ahh, trapping them in a pincer maneuver."

"Something like that. It sounds like the terrain may be advantageous for us."

The hills grew larger ahead of them and Kurloh eased up on the speeder bike's throttle when she caught sight of Rann and Soraa.

Kurloh stopped the bike next to the others' and she and Ja'Ina got off. They quietly made their way up the slope to where their comrades were waiting for them.

"What's their status?" Kurloh asked.

"No change, yet," Rann replied. "They're just hanging around for some reason."

"Hmmm, they're waiting for something. But what?"

"Go take a look for yourself."

Kurloh took Rann's macrobinoculars and headed up to the top of the ridge. She carefully peered over and took a look into the valley.

All of the Stormtroopers were still there. The droid stood perfectly still like some kind of statue. The lead trooper was talking on a comlink. Kurloh strained to hear what he was saying, but it was no good. She was too far away and his voice was lost in the breeze.

Kurloh made her way back to the others and activated her comlink. "Team Two, what's your ETA?"

Juun's voice came over the communicator. "We made it back to the outskirts of town, and we're bypassing to the west to get to your position. About fifteen minutes?"

Kurloh sighed. "That'll have to do. Keep communications open. Our target is still here, but we're not sure for how long."

"Understood. Juun out."

Soraa spoke up. "So we have to just keep waiting? Surely there're enough of us to close in." She undid the retention strap on her blaster's holster.

"Don't be hasty," Kurloh admonished her. "As long as they're staying put, so are we. We need to maximize our probability of success."

"I agree with Soraa," Rann added. "We may lose a prime opportunity here. Surprise would be on our side."

"There's still too many of them for us to deal with at once," Ja'Ina said. "We may be able to pick off a couple initially, but those remaining will be a real pain for just the four of us."

Kurloh nodded. "That's why we're waiting for Juun and Marka."

Both Rann and Soraa replied with frustrated expressions of disappointment, which were quickly broken by the sounds of explosions and blaster fire blaring from over the ridge above them.

The four pirates scrambled to the top to take a look. Kurloh and Soraa had their blaster pistols drawn and Rann had her rifle up and ready. Ja'Ina left her scimitar sheathed on her back on its baldric. The women saw two new figures in the valley. One was lobbing thermal detonators while the other one was wildly firing a blaster in multiple directions. Three Stormtroopers were dead with the remaining four returning fire. The assassin droid still stood immobile in its place.

Rann brought her rifle up and rested it on its bipod, taking aim at the droid. "I can take it down from here!"

Kurloh was about to tell Rann to hold fire when the droid started moving. Rann was a split second from squeezing the trigger, but managed to hold it when the droid suddenly moved out of her sight.

The assassin droid lunged in the direction of the newcomers with surprising speed and began blasting at them with its weapon-arm. The intruders got off a couple of shots on it before they were mowed down. Surprised, the women ducked back behind the ridge.

Rann was disappointed. "Damn! I guess that was some of our competition. They blew our opportunity!"

"Now what?" Ja'Ina asked.

"We need to see what the Imps're gonna do next," Kurloh directed.

Soraa took a look. "The troopers are getting in their landspeeders and taking the droid with 'em."

"Blast it! They're running for it! Let's go!"

The pirates scrambled back down the hillside to their waiting speeder bikes. Kurloh actuated her comlink on the way.

"Team Two! Our quarry is making a break for it! We'll let you know where they're headed so you can join up!"

"Gotcha," replied Juun over the comm.

This time Rann got on the bike with Kurloh, who was at the controls. Soraa hastily hopped on the other bike with Ja'Ina following right behind. Ja'Ina would have rather flown the speeder bike since she knew she was the better pilot, but she let it go as she hopped on and they sped off after the others.

* * *

The Imperial troopers appeared from the hills and hurriedly headed west, away from the coast, with the droid seated on the back of one of the landspeeders. The pirates gave pursuit. Rann got on the comlink to alert Marka and Juun of their heading. Hopefully they would be joining the chase in a few minutes.

The landscape was flat and featureless, making high-speed maneuvering very easy. Unfortunately, it also took away any element of surprise. The Stormtroopers immediately noticed their pursuers and one trooper on each speeder manned its blaster cannon. They began firing on the pirates.

Kurloh and Rann were in the lead, with Soraa and Ja'Ina closing up behind. They swerved their bikes from side to side to avoid the blasts. Kurloh was able maneuver with ease, but Soraa had a more difficult time of it. She was beginning to regret not letting Ja'Ina drive their bike. The shots from the Imperials were striking dangerously close to them.

Kurloh yelled out, "Soraa! Ja'Ina! Back off before you get killed!" Unfortunately, the rush of the air around them as they traveled full-throttle made it impossible for them to hear her. Kurloh tried to coax more speed out of the bike.

The women were slowly closing the gap between them and the fleeing Imperials. The bikes had no mounted weapons to fire back, so Ran brought her rifle up and steadied it on Kurloh's shoulder.

The Togruta protested. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Trying to level the field! Hold still!"

Kurloh did everything she could to hold the bike on a steady course with the other bike clear of Rann's field of fire.

"Just a few more seconds!" Rann called out.

The Imperials continued to blast at the pirates, making it difficult to maintain a smooth path for the shot. Rann continued to pull in her bead despite the unsteady movement. She aimed for the cannon on the speeder with the droid, which still sat unmoving on the back.

After what seemed to be an eternity of fine zig-zags, Rann managed to get her target right in the crosshairs and fired in that instant. The shot found its mark blindingly fast and struck the cannon dead-on. It exploded in the Stormtrooper's face, sending him flying off of the speeder. He hit the flat ground hard in a high-speed tumbling heap. The speeder bikes quickly shot past his lifeless body.

Soraa watched the spectacle and joyfully screamed, "Yeah-hooo! Great shot!" Unfortunately, she was distracted long enough for the other trooper to take aim on their bike.

The instant he fired, Ja'Ina yelled, "Look out!"

Soraa was just barely able to start to bank the bike to the left as the blast came at them. With incredible speed, Ja'Ina reflexively pulled out her scimitar and thrust it forward to the right of Soraa. Ja'Ina nearly fell off the bike with the impact of the blast striking the blade, but she held firm to the saddle with her legs. The bike rocked hard to the left, and Soraa was barely able to keep it from smashing into the ground.

The blast should have destroyed Ja'Ina's sword, but amazingly it didn't. The blade glowed red for several seconds and then the light faded. Kurloh and Rann saw the whole thing and were dumbfounded by the impossible sight. The sword should have been destroyed and they should have been dead, but they seemed to be okay. Kurloh pushed on as Soraa and Ja'Ina fell back. Juun and Marka then came blazing in from the right, joining the chase.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Soraa brought the speeder bike to a halt as the chase continued without her and Ja'Ina. She dismounted the bike, nearly falling to the ground while Ja'Ina still sat on the saddle holding her scimitar out. Ja'Ina stared at the curved single-edged blade, stunned by the surprising defensive capability she just discovered it had.

Breathless, Soraa crouched on the ground next to the bike and looked up at her friend. "What the hell happened back there, Ina?"

"I don't know. I'm just as surprised as you."

"It seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing. Like you knew your sword would block the blast."

"Seriously Soraa, I did not. I drew it without even thinking about it. It could have very easily been an exercise in futility."

While Ja'Ina was truthful, she hid the fact that it was likely due to her abilities in the Force that allowed her to instinctively know what to do and be able to react so incredibly fast. Ever since Kurloh showed her that the Force was with her, Ja'Ina wanted so badly to tell Soraa all about it, but she promised the Togruta that she'd keep silent about it. The young woman needed to remember that it was for the best.

Kurloh's words of warning echoed in Ja'Ina's mind. _These days, it's dangerous to be known as a Force-sensitive, or just to know one._

Still, that didn't make it much easier for Ja'Ina. She and Soraa had been best friends, closer than sisters, for pretty much all of their lives. They never kept anything from each other, especially something this monumental.

Ja'Ina reached her hand down to Soraa. "C'mon. We gotta catch up to the others."

Soraa looked at her and silently nodded as she got up with Ja'Ina's help.

"I'm driving this time," Ja'Ina demanded.

"That's fine with me!" As far as Soraa was concerned, she was fine with never piloting anything ever again.

The two young women mounted the bike and Ja'Ina fired up the engine. They sped off after their comrades.

* * *

After a couple of minutes, Soraa and Ja'Ina caught up with the chase. They expected it would take much longer. They then found out why it didn't.

The chase had slowed down considerably, as it was less like a straight-up pursuit and more like a two-dimensional dogfight. An unfamiliar speeder had joined in the fray and the situation had deteriorated from there.

The Imperial speeders were frantically firing in all directions. The assassin droid was now involved in the fighting, having replaced the fallen Stormtrooper gunner. While their speeder bikes were more maneuverable, the pirates were unable to take many shots at the troopers. The new speeder was manned by several non-humans, all firing blasters at the Imperials but also taking pot shots at the pirates. Soraa quickly drew her blaster pistol as she and Ja'Ina closed in.

"More of our competition, eh Ina?" Soraa asked as she double-checked the charge of her weapon.

"Looks that way! Let's get them first then deal with the troopers once they're out of the way!"

Ja'Ina opened the throttle all the way and charged into the fracas. She headed straight for the hunters' speeder and Soraa readied herself for a firefight. They came up right behind the speeder as it swerved through the combat. Ja'Ina had no problems matching the speeder's maneuvers while keeping behind them and out of their field of view.

Soraa raised her blaster up and without pause squeezed off a shot which hit one of the beings square in the back. He fell over within the speeder and his startled cohorts turned to see what had happened. The hunters saw the young women tailing them on their speeder bike. Before they could return fire, Soraa picked off another one of them, leaving four.

Ja'Ina pulled the bike hard left an instant before their rivals fired at them. Their blasts hit nothing but empty air. Soraa again raised her blaster at the speeder to take down another of the intruders. However, they spun their speeder around in an effort to give chase to the young pirates and Soraa's shot hit one of their engines instead.

The speeder's engine sputtered and caught fire, spewing thick black smoke. The speeder could still move, but its performance was drastically diminished. Soraa and Ja'Ina sped away towards the others as the hunters opened fire on them. Ja'Ina's Force-enhanced senses and reflexes allowed her to dodge every shot with ease.

* * *

Within a large, thick cloud of brown dust, the battle between the pirates and the Imperial Stormtroopers intensified. Blaster shots burst forth from the cloud in all directions. The battle had moved closer to some foothills and the ground was quickly becoming more uneven. That was not much of an issue for the speeder bikes as they could travel several meters above the ground. On the other hand, the landspeeders were not as well-suited for the rough terrain, which slowed them down considerably.

The troopers abandoned their speeders and sought protection behind some nearby rock formations. The assassin droid stepped off its speeder and began firing on the pirates.

Marka turned the speeder bike to bear down on the droid. Juun took aim from behind Marka and fired on the deadly automaton. Her shots connected but inflicted minimal damage to the droid. It continued to spray rapid blaster fire at its enemies while the Stormtroopers provided some cover fire.

"That karking thing has some armor to it, all right," Juun exclaimed.

As Marka pulled the bike away from the droid's position, it swept its blaster-arm towards them. The blasts missed the bike by the shave of a bantha's hide. Kurloh and Rann couldn't even get close due to the wild shots from the droid.

Ja'Ina made a split-second decision and slowed the bike down. "Soraa! When I say, jump!"

"Whaaat?!"

"…Now!"

Soraa always trusted her friend, so she jumped without second thought. She hit the ground and tumbled several meters. Battered and bruised, Soraa scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could. What alarmed her was that Ja'Ina was still on the bike, and she was accelerating.

"Ina! Jump!"

Ja'Ina rode the speeder bike right at the assassin droid, ready to jump just before impact. With an instantaneous threat assessment in its microprocessors, it sprang out of the way just in time. The young woman shot right past the droid toward the rock face that concealed the Stormtroopers. Soraa helplessly watched as Ja'Ina headed for certain death.

Ja'Ina activated the thrust reversers, but it did no good. She pulled hard on the controls in an effort to turn away from the rock wall, but it also proved futile. Swiftly, she stood up on the saddle and launched herself in the direction away from the rocks. She sailed high through the air in the Force-enhanced jump almost as if she had wings. The speeder bike slammed into the rock face and violently exploded. The impact shattered much of the formation and scattered the Stormtroopers out from behind it.

Ja'Ina landed on all fours right in front of the troopers. They were momentarily disoriented from the bike wreck and the young woman took the opportunity to strike. She drew her scimitar and charged at them.

The Stormtroopers' armor was enough to protect them from Ja'Ina's blade, but there were small gaps between the various plates and segments that were still vulnerable to her weapon. She exploited those minutely-exposed spots.

The troopers fired at Ja'Ina as she sprinted towards them. Since she now knew her sword could somehow absorb the energy from blaster shots, she used it to block the blasts as she closed in. Through the Force, she easily anticipated and blocked the shots as she ran forward. Ja'Ina lowered her sword and swept it upward, cleanly severing the nearest trooper's weapon hand. She then spun around him and slashed at the exposed back of his knee. The black body glove beneath his armor offered no protection from the blade whatsoever. He went down screaming, bleeding profusely from both wounds.

Stunned by the sight of his comrade falling to a mere girl with a sword, the second trooper did not see that Rann had drawn up a solid bead on him. Her shot blasted right into his chest, launching him backwards to never rise again.

Ja'Ina slowly approached the remaining trooper with a strong air of confidence, holding her bloodied sword down at her side. He stood there with his blaster raised, but too dumbfounded to move or speak. Through his helmet's optics, the trooper stared at the petite, half-dressed woman armed only with an archaic weapon standing before him. He found facing such an unlikely, yet deadly opponent more intimidating than facing a starving, rabid wampa.

"What'cha gonna do, eh?" Ja'Ina mockingly asked the bewildered trooper as she slowly strutted towards the trooper.

"S-Stay away from me!" he replied, stumbling back away from her.

Ja'Ina smiled and shook her head. "Come now, I would expect more courage from a soldier of the _mighty_ Empire." She raised her scimitar, ready to strike.

"I-" was all the Stormtrooper could get out before a blaster shot caught him in the helmet.

Ja'Ina whipped her head to see the source of the shot and was not happy. "Hey! He was mine!"

"I thought you needed some help," Kurloh called out with a smile.

"That's a load of poodoo if I ever heard it!"

The others were still tangling with the droid when an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle swooped down and released several more Stormtroopers onto the scene. The troops rapidly disembarked, firing their blaster rifles as they charged out. As quickly as it arrived, the shuttle took off again.

The pirates sought shelter amongst the rock formations as the new troopers joined the assassin droid in the firefight. This time, all Ja'Ina could do was to keep back. She realized this next round of the fight was to be decided by blasters alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

The fighting further intensified as the pirates desperately tried to hold off the increased number of Stormtroopers. The women were literally backed up against the wall, trapped behind some rock formations within the foothills. Blaster fire crisscrossed the air like frenzied rush-hour speeder traffic on Coruscant. The sounds were deafening and the battle kicked up so much dust that it was difficult to see further than a few meters.

Kurloh managed to stretch out with her feelings and lock onto one of the Stormtroopers hidden in the cloud of dust. She fired and it connected with her intended target. However, no one, including herself, could see her handiwork with their own eyes. It was difficult for the Togruta, however. She had to take a lot of time to line up her shot and the protracted fighting combined with using the Force began to wear her down.

Like an electric shock, Ja'Ina felt a new presence nearby, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from or who it was. She shot a glance at Kurloh, who clearly sensed the same thing she did. The two Force-sensitives strained to see what or who it could be, but were unsuccessful. The countless blaster shots relentlessly flew their direction as the pirates hid behind the large rocks. The situation was not looking good.

"Kurloh," Juun yelled out. "What're we supposed to do now?!"

"I don't know! I'm open to ideas!"

Just then, the blasts from the Stormtroopers became more erratic; most of which were no longer flying in the women's direction. The pirates held their fire to see what was going on.

It sounds of the blasts were becoming less frequent, and a strange sound could faintly be heard in between them. The dust began to thin out a bit and some of the dark figures of the troopers could be made out in the cloud, some of which were lying lifeless on the ground. But something else could be seen.

A bright, amber light could be seen wildly spinning around within the cloud and the strange sound became more noticeable. It sounded like an electronic swooshing that was in synch with the movements of the amber light. Needless to say, the pirates were confused by the unfamiliar sight. They watched intently from their hiding place.

The whole scene grew quieter, and the air cleared of the dust cloud, revealing all of the dead Stormtroopers strewn across the ground. Two lone figures were left standing – the assassin droid and the newcomer. It turned out he was the man from the tavern earlier in the day. He still wore his full cloak but also brandished an amber-bladed lightsaber. The hood of his cloak hid his face as he stood firmly, opposite of the droid. The women watched in amazement at the sight of this lone warrior who had single-handedly taken down an entire squad of Imperial troopers and now stared down a soulless killing machine.

The man and droid stood unmoving for what seemed an eternity. The droid wasn't sure how to handle its current opponent. There was nothing in its combat software routines for countering a lightsaber-wielding adversary. It reverted to its default program and sprayed rapid blaster fire at the man. He easily avoided the attack by jumping into the air to a super-human height. He tucked into a forward flip and descended upon the assassin droid. The automaton managed to sidestep the attack as the man came down. However, as the man landed on the ground right next to the droid, he swept his saber to the side, slicing through the machine's torso. The halves crashed to the ground in a twitching, sparking mess. With one fluid sweeping motion the man slashed the droid's weapon arm clean off and sliced its cylindrical head in two, then quickly extinguished his lightsaber and returned it under his cloak.

The pirates sprang from their hiding spot and ran towards the man. They kept their blasters out, but did not point them at him. He crouched over the destroyed droid, ignoring the young women as they ran up to him.

When they reached the man, Soraa tersely addressed him. "Who the hell are you?!"

Without moving or looking up, he spoke softly but directly. "I'm your competition, I suppose."

Soraa was annoyed by his answer. "We know _that_! Who are you?!"

He silently picked over the droid for what seemed an eternity to Soraa. The others stood around puzzled, but with their blasters ready just in case. Soraa became increasingly agitated with his lack of response.

"Careful with your anger, my dear," he said, still not looking up. "It could be your downfall."

Soraa had enough. "Why you-!"

In an instant, Ja'Ina blurted out, "No!" as the man shot up and grabbed Soraa by the throat. In shock, Soraa dropped her blaster to the dusty ground. The other pirates raised theirs at him and Ja'Ina drew her sword.

"You girls had better lower your weapons, or I will be forced to take you all down. Believe me – I am capable if I must. But I'd really rather not."

"Everyone, stand down," Kurloh ordered her crewmates.

Though confused, the others all complied. The man released his grip on Soraa and she dropped to her knees gasping and coughing. Ja'Ina came to her side as the man stepped back a little bit. He lowered the hood of his cloak.

He was a human and appeared to be well into his forties. He had a rough, grizzly unshaven face. His graying hair had some messy length to it, but wasn't too unsightly. His eyes had a look like they had seen a few too many parsecs of the galaxy.

He panned his gaze across the entire group before him. Deep thought shone in his eyes as he looked over the motley crew. He noted the mixture of races, the varyingly-racy manner of dress and the fact they were all female. "What is this? Has the Circus Acrobaticus come to the planet?"

"We're bounty hunters, like you," Rann replied.

The stranger chuckled. "No, not like me I assure you." He shot quick glances at Kurloh and Ja'Ina, neither of whom diverted their eyes from his.

Marka asked him, "Are you a Jedi?" It was the question the others were afraid to ask.

He looked the Theelin straight in the eyes. "The Jedi Order was destroyed a long time ago by the Empire. What makes you think that I am one?"

"You have a lightsaber."

"Really, now?" He put his hands on his hips. "Possessing a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi."

Ja'Ina stood up. "Alright, enough of this nonsense! Look stranger, what is your name?"

He chuckled again. "Now someone asks a good question! You can call me Spiaré, bounty hunter for hire." He bowed to the pirates.

Kurloh wasn't amused. She didn't like the idea of Spiaré taking their quarry away from them, even though he was the one who actually brought the droid down. She knew for a fact that he was some kind of Force user, Jedi or not, but that wasn't the most important thing at that moment. She hoped that Spiaré would not say anything about her or Ja'Ina being Force-sensitive as well.

Kurloh addressed the stranger. "Alright, Spiaré. Whatever. I suppose you're just going to take the droid and go?"

"What would you rather I do, my dear Togruta? Give it to you?"

"Well, we were on a mission to destroy it and take proof back to our client."

"You mean Ekha," Spiaré said flatly.

Rann pointed at him. "So you _are _one of our rivals."

"I don't hunt Imperial Stormtroopers for entertainment, my dear," Spiaré said with a raised eyebrow.

Kurloh was getting impatient with his attitude. "Who _are_ you then?"

"I've already told you. What more do you want?"

"Don't play stupid with us. We're not just a bunch of dumb girls!"

"I never said you were. Clearly you've got something more to you than meets the eye."

He again knowingly looked Kurloh in the eyes. This time, she quickly averted her eyes down to her feet, knowing very well what he was talking about. She could feel him probing her mind through the Force and she wasn't able to block him out.

Spiaré continued. "Do you even know who Ekha is, or why the Empire is involved?"

The pirates stood there silently, looking at each other and waiting for him to continue.

"You obviously have no love for the Empire, so I feel I can tell you without worry. You see, Ekha actually works for the Rebel Alliance. Specifically, he's an arms distributor for the rebels in this sector. His connections go through the criminal underworld, so it's easier for him to keep under the Empire's radar. His swoop racing business is a front for his operation."

"But apparently, the Empire's radar found him," Ja'Ina added.

"Yeah, but they preferred to send in the droid rather than a squad of troops to avoid tipping him off. Still, Ekha was certain the Empire was behind it."

"Yet, he didn't tell us anything about that!" Rann said with a disappointed scowl.

Spiaré shrugged, "Ehh, minor detail."

Ja'Ina shot a finger at Spiaré. "_You_ were the only one who was meant to destroy the assassin droid all along. The rest of us were just an expendable diversion!"

The man smiled. "Your insight serves you well, my dear. No, I'm not really a bounty hunter in the truest sense. Most of my missions involve subverting the Empire in some way or another, but I need to keep a low profile, so I don't get directly involved with the Rebellion. You are the first people to see me use my lightsaber and live to tell the tale. I'm afraid that's not going to do."

Marka was excited to know that she was right about him, ignoring his ominous statement. "So you really _are_ a Jedi!"

"I suppose you could say that."

Soraa blurted out, "Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that-"

The Jedi was unable to complete his sentence. The other bounty hunters in the damaged speeder finally made it to the scene and began firing at the group. Everyone scattered. All who carried a blaster drew it and returned fire. Ja'Ina stood next to Spiaré and drew her scimitar. The Jedi looked at her inquisitively as he activated his lightsaber. He found it interesting that this Force-sensitive woman would bother drawing a conventional sword in amongst a firefight.

Spiaré's wonderment was quickly answered when Ja'Ina managed to block a stray blaster bolt that flew right at her. He smiled when her blade briefly glowed red as it absorbed the blaster energy. To him, it resembled the glow of a lightsaber's blade.

Suddenly, Spiaré charged for the speeder with his lightsaber raised. His Force-assisted run carried him with super-human speed towards his adversaries. The bounty hunters concentrated their fire on the Jedi as he neared them, and he easily parried every shot. The women held their fire as they watched Spiaré in awe.

Suddenly, the speeder was blasted from above and violently exploded in a shower of fire, smoke and debris. The Imperial shuttle had returned and began strafing the area with its blaster cannons, instantly obliterating the bounty hunters and their speeder. The pirates fled the destruction, except for Ja'Ina.

She called out, "Spiaré!"

There was no sign of the Jedi.

The shuttle continued its strafing run towards the destroyed droid, which lay in pieces on the ground nearer to the hills. It too was quickly consumed in a massive explosion under a rain of cannon fire. The shuttle then turned to pursue the pirates, who were trying to flee the scene. It began firing at them just as a new ship suddenly appeared in the skies overhead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Juun saw the new ship first. "Look!"

A surprising sight, the _Lucky Star_ came flying in. It fired its fang-like nose cannons at the Imperial shuttle. The shuttle tried to weave out of the sights of the Y-wing's shots, but it was not as maneuverable as the fighter.

A couple of shots from the _Lucky Star_ connected with the shuttle's engines, which exploded in a shower of flames and sparks. The shuttle teetered and swayed out of control as it quickly fell from the sky. In an uncontrolled glide, the shuttle's angled lower wings struck the ground and it nosed hard into the ground. The cockpit area crumpled and exploded, filling the passenger hold with a fiery bloom that broke through the sides of the ship's hull.

The _Lucky Star_ swung around and slowly descended to land near the pirates. It hovered unsteadily as it touched down. The women watched in wonderment.

"Who's flying your ship?" Kurloh asked, very confused.

Ja'Ina knowingly smiled. "I'm pretty sure it's a certain little droid with a round head."

The Y-wing came to rest on its landing gear and the engines powered down. Once the noise subsided, Fitty could be heard tooting and whistling excitedly. He rose out of his socket and wildly spun his orange-detailed head from side to side. The women all ran up to the fighter.

Marka exclaimed, "That was amazing! I would have never thought a droid could pilot a fighter like that!"

"Yep, he can!" Soraa proudly spoke of the astromech.

Juun looked around. "Where's Spiaré?"

The Jedi had vanished when the shuttle destroyed the other hunters' speeder. The pirates scanned the area and checked the speeder wreckage but found no sign of him.

"Is he dead?" Rann asked.

Both Kurloh and Ja'Ina took a brief moment to stretch their feelings out for Spiaré. They sensed nothing, but that didn't necessarily mean he was dead. The women knew he could have erected a mental barrier to cover his escape.

"I don't know," Ja'Ina answered, after her secret scan through the Force. "There's so much destruction here, we can't even make out the bodies of the speeder occupants."

Soraa, who was crouched over the scant, unrecognizable remains of the droid, called to the others. "So much for proof-of-destruction. This mess may well have been a moisture vaporator."

"We weren't meant to succeed anyway," added Kurloh with a sigh. "Not to mention, this leaves no definite proof that the Empire was behind the whole thing."

Marka shook her head. "Berini's not going to be happy."

"We'll have to deal with that when we get back. We'll contact the _Valkyrie_ and just hang tight in Olu-Krav until they come back. I don't even want to bother with contacting Ekha. It wouldn't do any good now, and we're getting too close to the war as it is."

Rann popped her knuckles. "Heh, we'll let Berini deal with Ekha if she wants." She flashed a devious grin, knowing what the Captain does with those who cross her.

* * *

With their speeder bike destroyed, Soraa and Ja'Ina returned to Olu-Krav in the _Lucky Star_, while the others rode their bikes back. It was dusk and everyone was exhausted after the ordeal. Juun sent a quick holomessage to the _Queen Valkyrie_ to come pick them up a day early. She chose to not go into details, but rather have the group give Berini their report in person.

The women returned to the tavern and rented out rooms for the night. Everyone freshened up and met downstairs in the tavern. This time, it was crowded and noisy. There were very few humans there and many of the conversations were not in Galactic Basic. It was fairly well-lit and the air was filled with smoke of various aromas – some pleasant, some not so. An automated music player blared in one corner.

The women managed to find a small table to sit around and ordered a bunch of drinks. Once again, Ja'Ina was the only one who ordered a non-alcoholic drink.

Kurloh reached her hand over the table. "Ina, let's see that sword of yours!"

Ja'Ina was a bit confused. "Uh, okay." She un-snapped the retention strap securing the scimitar in its sheath and carefully drew it. Some of the other patrons looked at her with curiosity as she slowly brought the archaic weapon over her shoulder.

Ja'Ina passed it over the table to Kurloh. Its beautifully-detailed blade shone brightly in the light of the ceiling luma positioned over their table. The Togruta grabbed it and took a closer look.

Soraa was surprised to learn something so significant about Ja'Ina's sword, despite having known her for almost her whole life. "What's the deal with your scimitar, Ina?"

"I really have no idea," Ja'Ina confessed. "I've never blocked blaster shots with it before. I would have never considered trying such a crazy thing. It was purely an accident."

"A happy accident, I would say," said Rann. "I've seen many different defenses against energy weapons, but never a sword."

"What about lightsabers?" Soraa asked.

Rann leaned back in her chair. "Well, everyone knows the story that the Jedi weapon can deflect energy bolts. But none of us have ever actually seen one until today."

Marka shushed Rann and spoke in a hushed manner. "Keep it down! We shouldn't be talking about such things here. If the wrong person hears us we could be in real trouble."

Kurloh nodded in agreement. "She's right, girls. We best not talk about what we saw today until we're off-world."

Rann turned to Ja'Ina. "So Ina, where'd your sword come from, anyway?"

Ja'Ina took a sip of her drink. "Honestly, I don't know. I had it with me when I arrived at the orphanage, and there was no information with it."

Marka took the sword from Kurloh and looked at it. "I wonder what other secrets it holds."

Ja'Ina took her sword back and returned it to its sheath on her back. "I think that's enough secrets for now."

Soraa and Rann both downed the last of their mugs of house brew and slammed them simultaneously down onto the table, startling their companions. The two of them were looking to get a bit drunk.

"Server droid," Soraa called out above the din in the tavern, "two more house ales!"

Barely over the noise could be heard the unmistakable electronic tootling of a response to her order.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that much?" Juun asked. Like Ja'Ina, she was often the voice of reason.

Rann was a bit annoyed. "C'mon Juun! What else're we gonna do tonight? We're just waiting for the _Queen Valkyrie_ to return. Let's enjoy our time while we're here."

The music on the automated player changed to something with a strong up-tempo beat, perfect for dancing to. Ja'Ina couldn't help herself. She stood up and un-slung her baldric. She handed it to Kurloh and walked over to the small open area next to the player. She started to subtly move her hips from side to side. Her brief garments worked well for dancing, and for grabbing the attention of any male patrons who appreciated the human female form.

Ja'Ina noticed the response she elicited and decided to have some fun with it. It had been a long time since she and Soraa had the opportunity to tease men – pretty much since they first left Galathu.

The majority of the customers in the tavern was not human but was still drawn to her human beauty, and she fed off of the energy she felt from them as she added more motions to her dance. Her companions watched the exchange with enjoyment. None of the other pirates really knew how to dance like Ja'Ina, so they did not have the courage to join her.

As the music built up, so did the intricacy of Ja'Ina's moves. She turned around with steps that rolled her hips in a hypnotic fashion. The crowd responded with cheers in a number of different languages. Ja'Ina raised her arms up and out and waved her hands around as her turn brought her back to face her audience.

One drunken Twi'lek male of pasty skin tone and fat lekku stepped up and started dancing with Ja'Ina, or rather next to her. He didn't make any kind of attempts to grab or grope. Instead, he just performed his own clumsy dance, which elicited much laughter.

The Twi'lek couldn't really dance, but that didn't matter. His alcohol-fueled bravery led to more hollers from the crowd. Some crude remarks directed towards Ja'Ina could be heard amongst the cheers, but that didn't deter her as long as her 'partner' didn't try anything funny.

When the song ended, Ja'Ina stopped dancing and bowed to the crowd. She then turned her attention to the Twi'lek, from whom she sensed thoughts that became more unpleasant. He stumbled towards her with his arms held out as if he wanted to give her a hug.

The Twi'lek stuck his lips out to give her a disgusting, unwanted kiss.

_Blast it Ina, why do you keep doing this in places where men have been drinking_, she thought to herself. _You're just asking for trouble!_

Just then, the Twi'lek clumsily swatted his arms toward Ja'Ina in an attempt to grab her. The young woman simply dropped to a crouch and then swept her leg into his. He went down like a Nimu tree cut by the slash of a lightsaber, knocked out cold when his head hit the floor. No one helped him up. Instead they went back to their own businesses. Ja'Ina sensed that her little demonstration discouraged any other potential unwanted behaviors.

As Ja'Ina made her way back to her friends, people cleared the way for her. They dared not risk the same injury she inflicted on the Twi'lek.

As Ja'Ina sat back down, Soraa grabbed and squeezed her shoulder. "That's our Ina for ya!"

Everyone else at the table laughed. Ja'Ina laughed along on the outside, but on the inside she was disappointed with herself. She gave in to her immature urges to play around with males' responses to her, and as such the drunken Twi'lek got hurt. The whole situation was unnecessary.

_Remember, you're not in Sim Katall anymore_, Ja'Ina told herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Early the following morning, everyone checked out of their respective rooms and headed out for the ships in the pre-dawn chill. It was so early that there was little traffic of any kind around. The women made it to the landing platform where their ships were parked. Fitty stayed plugged into his socket on the _Lucky Star_, proudly guarding both ships through the night. His domed head was covered with the morning dew, but his servos and inner circuitry were protected from any elements of nature short of a meteor storm.

"Hi Fitty," Soraa called out. "How's the ship?"

The astromech answered with a stream of toots and whistles that seemed to indicate that everything was ship-shape.

"Good!" Soraa responded, pretending that she understood what he said.

All the pirates gathered around and Kurloh addressed the team.

"Alright girls. We did a good job here. I know things didn't go as planned, but given the circumstances, the fact that we all came out unscathed indicates a kind of a success."

"But what about the Captain?" Marka asked. "Won't she be upset with our failure?"

"I think she's going to be more upset with Ekha than us. Remember, this wasn't our fault. Let's just hope that our queen doesn't do anything rash."

"Easy for you to say, Ku," Rann quipped.

Ja'Ina and Soraa boarded the _Lucky Star_, and the rest boarded _Valkyrie One_. They remained on the landing platforms until they were signaled by the _Queen Valkyrie_ when she reached orbit. They would have met their mothership in deep space, but unlike the fighter, the small shuttle was not equipped with a hyperdrive. It was not much more than a planetary lander and could not fly outside of a star system on its own.

After they received the signal, the ships rose together into the morning air to meet with the _Queen Valkyrie_ in high orbit above Olu-Dra III.

* * *

The two ships returned to the _Queen Valkyrie_'s ventral landing bay and their occupants egressed. They were met by Taam, the Twi'lek who picked a fight with Ja'Ina soon after she and Soraa came aboard.

"Queen Berini's waitin' for ya in the common room," Taam said. "How'd it go?"

"Not good," Kurloh replied. "But it's a long story. Let's go, everyone."

Kurloh, Soraa, Rann and Ja'Ina walked to the common room while Taam, Juun and Marka went off somewhere else in the ship.

Inside the common room, Berini and her first mate, Myrrna, were conversing at the table with a third person. She was an attractive Zeltron with deep crimson skin tone and dark wavy hair that had a slightly blue luster. The Captain looked up at the newcomers with a big smile.

"Ahhh, welcome home, my dears! Please come and sit."

Myrrna and the Zeltron stood up and stepped over to the wall, continuing their discussion. The others came and sat down around Berini. She read their faces as clear as a holonovel. Her crew had not succeeded their mission.

"All right," she sighed. "What happened?"

The pirates took turns telling their parts of the story that had transpired on Olu-Dra III. Berini listened intently at the retelling of the wild events. The discussion drew on for some time until it came to the part about Spiaré.

"Wait, wait, wait," Berini stammered. "You mean to tell me that you came across an actual Jedi?"

"Yes, Captain," Kurloh answered. "He didn't directly admit it, but we're certain that's what he was."

"Yeah, he spoke strangely and didn't really answer our questions," Rann added. "But then he charged at the other hunters when they caught up to us. He disappeared when the Imperial shuttle returned and took out the other hunters' speeder."

Soraa continued. "We're not sure if he was killed in the blast or somehow escaped."

The burly captain rubbed her chin. "Hmmm, you didn't find any evidence that he got away?"

"No Ma'am," Ja'Ina answered.

"But if he were a Jedi, he may very well could have fled and left no traces," Kurloh surmised.

Berini frowned. "Still, I would have rather you tracked him down. We can't have this person interfering with our business!"

"That's just it," Rann interjected. "It turns out that Spiaré was the one meant to hunt down the droid! Ekha hired the rest of us as a diversion. We weren't expected to succeed."

Berini leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Oh really?" she huffed.

Kurloh lifted an eyebrow. "Captain, just how do you expect us to track a Jedi?"

Berini was disappointed with her security chief. "What, you aren't capable of finding _one man_? And you call yourself a bounty hunter!" She shot up out of her chair.

The Togruta gritted her teeth. "With all due respect, Captain… How much do you know about the Jedi?"

Berini laughed out loud. "Now I'm being interrogated by my own crew! What's this galaxy coming to?" Her expression quickly changed to one of irritation. "Maybe I should just go back to the Imperial Navy where I'll be better appreciated!"

Kurloh bowed her head and spoke softly, "I'm sorry, my Queen."

The crew usually reserved calling Berini 'Queen' when they needed to express humble submission.

"That's more like it. I like spirit in my crew, but don't misdirect it!" Berini relaxed before continuing. "Anyway, I admit I don't know much. We didn't see many Jedi on Corellia in the days of the Republic. Then, after I joined the Navy our superiors drilled into us stories of the treachery and treason committed by the Jedi Order. Somehow, the clone armies were able to hunt them down, right?" She leaned over the table and cocked her head to one side. "Kurloh, please enlighten me."

Kurloh looked up and swallowed hard. She searched for words that would have the lowest possibility of offending her captain again. "Please forgive any bluntness, Captain. It took whole professional armies surrounding the Jedi to take them down in surprise. We're just a handful pirates…" Her voice trailed off.

Berini was again disappointed. She stepped right in front of Kurloh, grabbed the Togruta's chin and tilted her face up. "Chief Finnik, I have never heard such a lack of confidence from you before. Do I need to find myself a new chief of security?"

Kurloh gathered herself and snapped to attention. "No, Ma'am!" Whenever Berini went into her 'Navy Captain' mode, one couldn't help but snap to, even if they weren't a naval soldier.

"Good! As soon as any of my girls show signs of uncertainty, I must take action to keep my crew in tip-top condition."

Berini slowly strode around the room. "At any rate, I don't want to pursue this issue anymore. We came close to getting tangled in the war between the rebels and the Empire and I don't want to get any closer. I will take some responsibility for it. Apparently, I didn't do enough research on Ekha otherwise I would have found his connections to the Rebellion and would not have accepted the job."

When she got to the side of the table opposite the group, Berini leaned forward onto the table top on her open palms. She looked directly at the women, the motherly look returned to her face.

"Still, Ekha's lucky nothing happened to any of you. I would have tracked him down no matter his affiliation if any of you were sacrificed for his position. He would have wished the Empire had got to him instead."

The Captain paused for a moment, then straightened back up and motioned to Myrrna and the Zeltron. They stepped up next to the others, who all stood up.

"Ladies, I'd like you to meet Deoni. She is joining our crew as of now. She is an excellent con artist who specializes in tricking males of many races."

Ja'Ina, Soraa, Kurloh and Rann looked at the newcomer. Deoni was a very attractive Zeltron female; even other females could sense that magnetism. She wore a rather alluring outfit of shimmersilk that danced over her form like a waterfall as she walked.

Deoni spoke with a silky smooth voice that made the other women uneasy. "It's _very nice_ to meet you all." She flashed an ambiguous smile.

The others didn't know how to respond. Something in her voice resonated strangely within them, and they didn't know how to handle it. Ja'Ina and Kurloh, through their affinity with the Force, saw right through the ruse. They looked at each other with one eyebrow raised.

Deoni instantly changed to a genuine countenance. "How was that, Captain?"

Berini chuckled. "I'd say that was a fine demonstration, my dear!" She looked at the others, who looked back with various confused expressions. "Imagine how her abilities would have affected you had you all been males! Deoni has offered to contribute her talents to our team."

"I contacted Berini and offered her my skills. I've been making a living by conning males out of their credits, weapons, speeders…whatever I could make good money on. Unfortunately, things got out of hand and it was getting a bit too dangerous for me on my own."

Rann was not impressed. "Well then, maybe you shouldn't get people so agitated!" She patted her blaster pistol. "If you're going to get involved in such seedy activities, you need to know how to protect yourself!"

Rann had just barely finished her thought when Deoni seemed to simply materialize right behind her, holding a vibroblade to her throat. The con woman was very quick and silent. No one could even tell that she was carrying the weapon, or that she had a second one hidden on her person. She did not need to activate it to get her point across.

"Don't be too quick to judge, my friend," Deoni whispered into Rann's ear. "You could have very easily been dead by now, if I so desired."

Beads of sweat broke on Rann's brow and she swallowed hard. Deoni quickly withdrew the blade and returned it to its hidden sheath.

Berini spoke up. "That's enough everyone!" She addressed Deoni's potential victim. "Rann, do you really think I'd bring an incompetent into our sisterhood?"

Rann hung her head low in embarrassment. "No, of course not, Captain." She felt quite incompetent herself at that moment.

"Good! Remember that! Deoni here is also an expert with neutralizing security measures, which is another handy skill that we've been lacking; hence the reason why I chose to recruit her for our crew."

"So you're some kind of thief then," Ja'Ina said to the Zeltron.

"_Master_ thief, that is," Deoni said with a bow. "At your service!"

* * *

A breath's moment later, the general annunciator sounded in the common room. Berini activated the holoprojector.

"Berini here. What is it?"

The image of Gartia, the Theelin communications officer, materialized in the air. "Captain, something terrible has transpired, which has made the HoloNet News! I think you need to see it."

"Why? What happened?"

"You need to see for yourself, Captain."

"Very well. Patch it through here."

The image of the comm officer flickered and wavered as it morphed into the image of a human newscaster. The distinctive wheel-like emblem of the Empire prominently displayed in a large size behind him.

"…Again, the planet Alderaan has been destroyed in a heinous attack carried out by the criminal Rebellion against the Empire. Reports from the Imperial Navy indicate that the planet was annihilated by some kind of weapon of mass destruction. All that remains is a debris field between the orbits of the neighboring worlds. The destruction was total. It is believed there are no survivors…"

Everyone in the room was stunned beyond all belief. Even Myrrna, in a rare display of emotion, showed an expression of shock. Berini made sure to keep her crew out of the conflict between the Empire and the Rebellion, but it appeared that it would be much more difficult to stay out of the way anymore. The din of numerous comments rose to fill the room.

"I don't believe it!" Rann yelled. "It's a filthy stinkin' Imperial lie! The Empire did this, it's just like them!" Some of the others agreed with her sentiment.

Berini barked out, "Everyone be quiet!" The talking immediately ceased and their focus returned to the holoprojector.

"…In an official statement, His Majesty the Emperor Palpatine expressed sympathy for the incredible loss of life in the Alderaan tragedy. He vowed to increase the efforts to hunt down and destroy the Rebellion which threatens the peace and security of the galaxy. The destruction of Alderaan comes shortly after the Emperor disbanded the Imperial Senate in a drastic effort to bolster the stability of the Empire in the face of the constant rebel threat. The Imperial Security Bureau believes that the attack was a direct response to that disbandment…"

Berini punched the control to the holoprojector, disconnecting it from the transmission. Her crew all silently looked at her, as if for guidance. She took a deep breath and thought for a moment before speaking.

"I've seen a few things during my time in the Imperial Navy. But, it doesn't make sense that the Rebellion would commit such an act. I've never once heard of them even having the means to develop such a weapon…"

"That's because they don't," an unfamiliar voice answered.

Surprised, all of the women turned toward the voice. It was the Jedi Knight Spiaré, standing next to the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Berini was incensed that the Jedi had actually sneaked aboard her ship. "Grab him!"

Myrrna sprang up and over the table and flew at Spiaré. "Intruder!"

The other pirates, except for Kurloh and Ja'Ina, drew their weapons and had them at the ready. Spiaré simply stood there and confidently smiled.

Myrrna launched into a flying kick straight at Spiaré. He merely raised his hand and stopped and held the mad Twi'lek in mid-air. This angered her even more and she struggled in the Jedi's invisible grip.

Even though Kurloh, Ja'Ina, Rann and Soraa knew he was a Jedi that knowledge didn't prepare them for the spectacle. Rann and Soraa raised their blasters at Spiaré. Deoni held both of her activated vibroblades out and ready.

"Hold your fire!" Berini commanded. She was impressed, but at the same time very unsettled that a Jedi knight made it aboard her ship. She hid her unease from the others, which was a skill she had perfected over the years and has helped her many times in the past. However, this was the most difficult instance she'd ever faced.

The fact that a real, live Jedi stood before her was astonishing and unbelievable. Her naval superiors had drilled into their subordinates how the 'great' Galactic Empire had annihilated every last Jedi for their crimes against the galaxy. Berini always had her doubts that there were absolutely no Jedi left in the vast galaxy, but this was the first time she had ever seen one.

Myrrna became more enraged with Spiaré as he continued to restrain her with the Force. "Let… go… of me!"

Being in tune with the Force themselves, Ja'Ina and Kurloh stood there in awe of the display of Spiaré's power. While the women had some latent abilities in the Force, they were only passive skills. Neither of them had any command over telekinetic powers.

Berini stepped forward. "Release my First Officer!"

"Well now, the mean ol' pirate captain orders me around," Spiaré answered mockingly. "You tell your _First Officer _that I will not release her until she calms down."

"Myrrna, you heard him!"

The Twi'lek only growled at him as she continued to fight against Spiaré's hold. She was physically strong, but her physical strength was no match for the power of the Force.

Berini ordered her once more, "Myrrna, stand down!"

Myrrna let out one more frustrated growl and then relaxed in the invisible grip. She hung limp in mid-air.

Spiaré lowered his hand. "That's better, my good Twi'lek. Listen to your captain and you'll live longer."

Myrrna was slowly lowered to the deck and her weight shifted back onto her feet. She stood there panting after the struggle. She stared at the Jedi with the kind of boiling anger that would scare a starving rancor away from a fresh kill.

Berini got up in Spiaré's face, her blaster pistol still raised. "Damn right this _mean ol' pirate captain_ orders you around! This is _my_ ship!"

She stood as tall as he did, and was built just as burly. Still, he felt more amused than threatened. He let his mental shield down so that Kurloh and Ja'Ina could sense his disposition.

"And a fine ship it is, indeed," Spiaré responded with a degree of mockery in his voice.

Ja'Ina approached Berini and Spiaré, as timid as an eopie calf. "Spiaré, how did you get here?"

"Simple my dear, I came back with you on your shuttle," the Jedi answered with a smile.

"What the-" Rann exclaimed. "That's impossible! There's no place to hide in there!"

Kurloh excitedly spoke up. "A Jedi can hide anywhere, even in the open!"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Spiaré countered with a chuckle.

Berini seethed at the intruder, who seemed to take the situation all too lightly. "Enough! We're taking you into custody until we figure out what to do with you!"

Just then, four pirates led by the Twi'lek Taam burst into the room with blasters out. Spiaré simply smiled and raised his hands in surrender. He didn't feel the need to put up a fight as it was not in his plan to take down the crew of the _Queen Valkyrie_.

One of the pirates searched the Jedi and confiscated his lightsaber. She handed it to Berini.

Berini held it out in front of her and regarded it from different angles. "Well, what have we here?"

Spiaré held his smirk. "Just a hand-luma. I have terrible night vision."

Kurloh couldn't help but burst out laughing. Berini shot the Togruta a glance that could kill a krayt dragon. Kurloh shot a hand to her mouth, silencing her spontaneous mirth.

Berini activated the lightsaber and the amber blade quickly extended from the hilt with the characteristic snap-hiss sound of the weapon. She steadily held it in place, knowing it would be dangerous to try wielding it with no training. All the pirates stared at the glowing, humming blade in complete awe.

"Hand-luma, eh? Seems to be quite powerful."

"Well, it gets very dark on the fifth moon of Uruta."

Berini felt a frustrated anger well up inside of her with the Jedi's stream of smart-assed remarks. She brought her feelings back under control and extinguished the lightsaber.

"Taam, take this… _man_ to vacant quarters. Keep him there while I figure out what to do with him."

Spiaré nodded and put his hands behind his head. "That's right, Taam, do what your captain tells you."

Taam and the others led the Jedi out of the room. Berini placed the lightsaber on the table and sat down with a heavy sigh. Soraa, Ja'Ina, Rann, Kurloh and Deoni sat down with her. Myrrna leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed and scarred lekku prominently displayed. Her expression was ambiguously unpleasant, as usual.

"What is it, Captain?" Rann asked.

"I don't like this one damn bit. We've gotten ourselves entangled with the Civil War, and now we have a Jedi on board to boot. And even worse, the Empire now has the capability to destroy planets." Berini let out a weary sigh.

She sat silently for a few moments, contemplating the situation. The others also remained silent, waiting for Berini to continue.

"We have to get the hell out of here, immediately. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an Imperial cruiser still in the Olu-Dra system, waiting for word from their dead troopers. We need to head further into the Outer Rim for a while, away from the war."

Kurloh interjected, "But Captain, it'll be harder to find jobs out there!"

"Let me worry about that. Besides, we've got enough resources to sustain ourselves for a while. The safety of my ship and crew is more important at this point."

Just then the ship lurched, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of explosions. Some of the women rocked in their chairs, while others spilled onto the deck. Alarm klaxons sounded throughout the ship.

Berini steadied herself. "What in Stars' End?!" She punched the holo-communicator control. "Berini to the bridge, what's going on?!"

Mylyn, the Zeltron pilot responded. "Captain! We're under attack by a squadron of TIE fighters!"

"How many?!"

"We estimate about a dozen!"

"I'm on my way!" Berini quickly deactivated the communicator. "Alright girls! Everyone get to your battle stations!"

Berini's order was met by various responses of "Yes Ma'am!" or "Aye Captain!"

Berini turned to Ja'Ina and pointed at her. "You and Deoni are coming with me to the bridge!"

"Yes, Captain," Ja'Ina replied with a nod.

The two followed Berini running out of the conference room.

Rann grabbed Soraa's arm. "Let's go! We're goin' duck hunting!"

All Soraa could get out was a confused "Whaaaa-?" as Rann dragged her out the door.

Kurloh ran out to man another of the turbolaser turrets while Myrrna ran to assist in the engine room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

While the _Queen Valkyrie_, being a modified Corellian Corvette, was decently armed, she was by no means a warship. Berini never intended on going up against the Imperial Navy, her former comrades-in-arms. She made sure to minimize the possibility of putting her ship at risk for combat, especially since her crew wasn't exactly a career naval crew.

This was the first combat that Soraa and Ja'Ina had experienced aboard the _Valkyrie_, so the chaos and confusion was difficult for them to handle. It was especially hard for Ja'Ina as her perception through the Force was instantly blasted with the mental reactions of her crewmates.

With Kurloh's tutelage, Ja'Ina had become more accustomed with being around larger groups of beings and sorting through her perceptions of them through the Force. But this was a new situation that she had to apply that knowledge to. She had to fight hard to keep from collapsing from the disorienting sensations.

Berini scrambled to the bridge with Ja'Ina and Deoni following close behind. The three women barged in and found the bridge crew had their hands full.

Berini ran up behind the pilots' chairs, looking out the forward portal. "What's our current status?!"

"Shields are holding up okay at the moment," Mylyn replied, "but we'll be in trouble if we let them hit us much more."

"Are we ready to make the jump to Hyperspace?"

Krivan, the Chalactan copilot, responded, "No Captain, we're currently setting up the calculations for the jump. What is our destination?"

The ship continued to rock with explosions and TIE fighters could be seen zipping back and forth outside the forward viewport. Flustered, Berini just wanted to get the ship out of there; she didn't have time to decide where to go.

Berini blurted out the first world that came to mind. "Tatooine! Lay in a course for Tatooine!"

Mylyn answered, "Affirmative!"

* * *

Elsewhere on the _Queen Valkyrie_, Rann and Soraa headed for the dorsal turrets. While Soraa was an expert on hand-weapons and decent on some larger guns, she was not so sure about a cannon mounted on a starship. The two got to the forward port-side hatch and Rann opened it.

"Okay, get in here," she directed Soraa. "I'm heading for the forward starboard turret!"

"But what am I going to do?!"

"Just strap yourself in and wait for me over the comlink. It'll be okay, I think you'll enjoy it!" Rann gave Soraa a reassuring smile.

Soraa climbed in and the hatch closed behind her. A large viewport opened out in front of the seat. She settled into the chair and strapped herself in, then donned the comm headset, and anxiously awaited Rann's voice.

Soraa quickly scanned around at the controls. There was a control yoke with what she figured was a trigger on the handle and a frame suspended between the yoke and viewport. There were other controls she wasn't sure of.

Soraa saw the TIE fighters streaking across her view, firing their laser cannons at the ship. One hit near the turret and she screamed as a deafening explosion broke right in front of the viewport, briefly filling the turret compartment with blinding light and violently shaking the young woman in her seat.

"Blast it Rann, where are you?!"

With perfect timing, Rann's voice broke through in Soraa's headset, "Okay, are we ready to go?" Soraa could almost hear the smile on her comrade's face.

"Yeah, what do I do?"

"You see the row of buttons on the right? Push them sequentially, this will charge up the cannon and activate the turret systems. On the frame in front of you is a toggle switch. Flip that and it will activate your heads-up display. That will show you where your shots are going!"

"Roger that!"

Soraa followed Rann's instructions and the turret came to life with a deep hum that filled the compartment. Using the yoke, Soraa tested the movement of the turret, which responded surprisingly quick in all directions. She then activated the HUD and a holographic targeting mark appeared in front of her.

Rann broke over the comm. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I think I'm all set!"

"Good, good! Just relax and have fun! It's just like handling a blaster!"

"But you don't sit inside a blaster!"

"Cute! Ku, are you ready too?"

Kurloh's voice came over the comm. "Yeah, I'm ready!" She was in the aft-ward starboard turret.

"Alright then, girls. Let's hunt some filthy TIE's!"

"Yeeehoo!" Kurloh hooted in reply.

_I can't believe how carefree they are about this_, Soraa thought to herself.

* * *

On the bridge, Ja'Ina and Deoni stood towards the back to let Berini and the flight crew handle the emergency situation. The TIE fighters continued to swarm around the ship and the view out of the forward viewport flashed with the blasts of laser cannons and explosions. The pilots fought to keep the _Valkyrie_ steady after the initial surprise of the attack.

"Krivan," Berini addressed the Chalactan copilot, "what's the hull status?"

"She's holding up okay so far. We've sustained only superficial damage. Deflector screens are holding steady."

Berini called out, "Are the turbolaser cannons manned and ready?"

"Yes, Captain," replied Gartia, the Theelin comm officer. "They are ready for counter-attack."

"Excellent! They can fire at will!"

Gartia gave the word and moments later, blasts from the _Queen Valkyrie_'s weapons could be heard in response to the Imperial onslaught.

* * *

On the order, Soraa began firing her cannon out towards the enemy craft but could not get even a close bead on any of the targets, which frustrated her very much. The largest weapon she had ever fired before was a tripod-mounted repeating blaster. The turbolaser dwarfed a repeating blaster by many parsecs.

Soraa yanked hard on the yoke in all directions, but still she could not draw up a lock on any of the TIEs. "Ku! Rann! How do you shoot with this karking thing?!"

Rann responded over the comlink. "Just point and fire!"

"What a comedian! This thing is too slow!"

Kurloh chimed in. "Rann! Take it easy on her. Soraa, it's okay. Rann's just yanking your chain."

Rann added, "Just try to anticipate where they'll go and you'll be able to tear through those mynock-scum Imps like pieces of zoosha fabric!"

_Easy for you to say_, Soraa thought. She was very good at predicting situations when she was handling blasters, at least she could respond quickly. This monster of a weapon just didn't move very fast. She settled back in the chair and took a deep breath, flexed her fingers then grabbed the yoke and began panning around for targets.

Immediately, Soraa spied a TIE fighter that zipped into her field of view. She swung the cannon over towards it and mashed the trigger button. The target space was long vacated by the time the blast got there.

"Stang!"

"Try to relax, Soraa," Kurloh reassured her.

Soraa didn't quite know what to make of the Togruta. Kurloh seemed really nice and compassionate to her crewmates, including Soraa. But, Ja'Ina had been spending a lot more time with Kurloh than she did with Soraa, and that did eat at her a bit. At least Soraa made fast friends with Rann through their mutual interest in blasters. That helped occupy her when she couldn't spend time with Ja'Ina.

A nearby explosion snapped Soraa's attention back into the current situation and she reflexively squeezed the trigger. As if by chance of fate, it connected with a TIE, which was practically atomized by the turbolaser blast. It was the kind of shot one could make only by pure accident.

"I got one! I got one!" Soraa squealed with wild excitement.

Rann joked with her, "Great shot! Just don't get cocky!"

"How many have you got?"

"Three!"

_I guess I have a long way to go_, Soraa thought.

Soraa kept on working to get the hang of the large weapon, but she could not get past her impatience and frustration.

Kurloh's voice broke through the comlink. "It's okay Soraa, you're doing a fine job…" Her voice sounded comforting in spite of the confusion of combat.

Soraa was wondered about Kurloh's response. Soraa thought to herself, _did she know what I was feeling?_ She shook her head. _Impossible_.

Soraa quickly realized that she saw no more TIE fighters out of her viewport. "Hey, girls! Did we get all of 'em?"

"I don't think so," Rann answered. "I counted several ships remaining before they disappeared. I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Just then, a large explosion violently rocked the ship, to the point that Soraa would have been thrown out of her seat if it weren't for the safety harness that held her in place.

Soraa screamed out, "What the kriff was that?!"

"That was no TIE blast!" Kurloh replied over the comlink.

Another explosion rocked the ship and it listed starboard. Soraa began to panic.

A general alert sounded over everyone's headsets.

"This is the Captain. We are being chased by an Imperial destroyer and are preparing to make the jump to light speed. Everyone secure your stations! Dorsal gunners, aim high astern!"

Over the comm, Rann called out, "Alright ladies, you heard her! Let's turn our attention to the slimy Imperial space slug behind us! Ku, meet me at the big gun up top!" She referred to the large dual turbolasers that comprised the ship's main armament.

"I'll be right there," Kurloh replied.

Soraa swung her turret aft-ward and caught a clear view of their pursuer above the _Queen Valkyrie_ past her engines. It was a Gladiator-class Star Destroyer with its characteristic forked bow. It was not nearly as big as an Imperial-class vessel, but still substantially larger than a Corellian Corvette such as the _Queen Valkyrie_. This was the largest ship Soraa had ever seen, and the sight of it only amplified her anxiety.

Half under her breath, Soraa said, "This can't be happening…"

Soraa took another deep breath and began firing at the large ship behind them. She could see the Star Destroyer's large cannon blasts shoot past, too close to the ship.

Soraa fired her cannon as fast as it could go, though she wasn't sure if it was even powerful enough to inflict any real damage to the Imperial vessel. Sweat streamed down her brow and stung her eyes, causing her to release the yoke to wipe her face clear. As her vision returned she looked up just in time to see a cannon blast coming right for her turret. The whole thing happened in an instant, but she perceived it in slow-motion. The blinding green light of the blast energy filled the entire viewport. All Soraa could do was watch helplessly as the blast tore into her turret.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

"Captain, we're losing sublight velocity! We took a direct hit to one of the engines," Mylyn called out.

"Dammit!" Berini yelled back. "Can we make the jump yet?!"

"We need a few more minutes to finish the calculations! The nav computer sustained some damage and processor power has been diminished!"

"Those sithspawn! Bank hard to port!" Berini commanded.

With that, the pilot veered the _Queen Valkyrie_ toward the port side. Ja'Ina and Deoni traded worried expressions as they held on in the jump seats against the rear bulkhead of the small bridge. They could see several more shots from the Star Destroyer streak past the starboard side of the ship, but it lurched again and lost more speed as it took a direct hit to another engine.

Berini slammed her fist on the console. "Those skragging scums are trying to cripple us, not destroy us! At this rate they'll soon have us! It'll be a cold day on Mustafar before I let that happen!"

Just then, a mental pain shot through Ja'Ina's being, which nearly caused her to fall out of her jump seat. "Oh no…" Her face turned pale, and Deoni noticed it.

"What is it?" the Zeltron asked.

"I gotta go! Soraa's in trouble!"

"What? How do you know that?"

"I just _know_!" Ja'Ina jumped up from her seat and ran for the exit.

"Wait!" Deoni called out.

Ja'Ina ran as fast as she could through the corridors to make her way to the dorsal cannons, following Soraa's presence through the Force. As the ship rocked, she was tossed into the bulkhead. She rolled with the impact and nearly fell, but she was agile enough to keep on her feet and continue her run.

She made it to the upper deck and the forward turbolaser turrets. They were armed life ships in the stock-standard configuration, but Berini had them converted with more powerful cannons for increased defenses. Ja'Ina ran into Spiaré, who was already at the door of one of the forward turrets. He was not wearing his cloak, displaying his simple tan tunic and pants.

Over the cacophony of combat, she yelled to the Jedi, "How'd you get up here?!"

"The same way you did!"

Ja'Ina growled. "What're you doing here?!" She was in no mood for his smart-assed comments and her sour expression made that well known to him.

"Your friend Soraa is in there, but you know that already! Her turret took a direct hit, but I sense she's still alive!"

"Well, open the door then!"

"It's jammed. Stand back!"

The Jedi pulled out his lightsaber, which he retrieved after the fighting started, and activated it. He thrust its bright amber blade straight into the hatch and slowly cut a large, circular hole in the middle. Ja'Ina stood aside and nervously watched him work. In any other situation she would have been fascinated by the sight, but now it was just nerve-wracking. It seemed that Spiaré took forever, but she knew he had to be careful.

When he completed the cut, the hatch piece was sucked into the turret chamber, indicative of some atmospheric decompression within. Ja'Ina leapt through the hole before Spiaré could stop her.

The turret was a mess – panels were blown out, smashed circuitry and severed live wires spit out bright sparks and the viewport and controls were smashed. The chamber's thinning air was filled with a lung-stinging smoke. Somehow, the turret was more or less still intact however there was a breach through which the atmosphere was quickly escaping out with an audibly ominous hiss. It was getting harder to breathe as the air grew thinner.

Ja'Ina crawled her way over the debris to Soraa, who was still harnessed in her chair. She was slumped over in the seat, unconscious and bleeding from wounds torn into her body from head to toe. Ja'Ina struggled to get Soraa out of the shredded harness as Spiaré climbed into the turret.

"Hurry, Ja'Ina! The turret's integrity is critical!"

"I know, Spiaré! I know!"

Ja'Ina struggled to remain calm and focused. She knew that if she were flustered, she'd never be able to get Soraa out in time. The hiss of the leak grew louder as the breach progressed. The turret's durasteel shell began to groan as the rate of decompression increased. Ja'Ina could feel her eardrums push outward with the rising pressure differential.

Ja'Ina managed to undo the last buckle of the tattered harness and Soraa tumbled forward lifelessly into Spiaré's arms.

"Ja'Ina! Go!"

The young woman did not question the Jedi. She knew to trust him and his ability to save her friend.

Ja'Ina quickly climbed out of the hole into the corridor. The corridor lights flickered as the ship sustained another direct hit. Moments later, Spiaré lifted Soraa out the hole to Ja'Ina and then crawled out.

He picked up the unconscious woman and hefted her over his shoulder. They ran back down the corridor just as the turret broke apart like an eggshell, causing explosive decompression through the now-door-less hatch.

The two fought hard against the pull of the decompression that threatened to throw them out into the vacuum of space and certain death. They barely made it past a blast door that automatically closed right behind them to seal off the corridor section exposed to the hull breach. They collapsed to the floor, out of breath. Spiaré gently laid Soraa on Ja'Ina's lap, and she held her in her arms.

Ja'Ina gently rocked Soraa back and forth and wiped the blood from her dear friend's face. "It's okay, Soraa. I'm here. Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay…" Tears streaked down her honey-brown cheeks.

The Jedi put his hand on Ja'Ina's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She looked at him and he gave her a knowing smile.

A few moments later, the _Queen Valkyrie_ jumped into hyperspace…

* * *

_Author's Note: Here we are at the end of yet another episode of Soraa and Ja'Ina's epic adventure!  
_

___You can find Episode V at: www fanfiction net/s/8904872/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-V (just add the missing periods)_

_And, as always, thank you for reading this far!_


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